Friday, September 25, 2015

Moving on...

to the next thing coming down the chute, 'cause when you have a big family there's always something next, right? Our next is sweet, sensitive, brave and strong Jude.

Seriously, I meant it when I said the timing couldn't have been more perfect for Sweet Thing moving on to what's next for her. We weren't sure how to handle all this traveling we need to do with Jude and child care before she moved on.

So now it's going to be all about Jude. Until the doc actually gets his hands on him, literally on Monday, we don't have a concrete treatment plan. It's all tentative thus far. But the tentative surgery is scheduled just in case.

Jude is spending a lot of time in the pool these days. Ya, it's hot so that's one reason why, but he's also said that it's the one of things he's going to miss when he has his casts on. He's also said he's sad about missing out on all the Halloween carnivals. We've assured him that we will still be going with casts and wheelchair.

Papa found a child-sized wheel chair on Criag's List super cheap (Oh Craig's List, I love you!) so even though he doesn't need it yet, Jude is also spending a lot of time practicing. 'Cause evidently doing this is way more fun than riding a bike or doing homework.

Ignore the surley lady in the background with the camera who has her back to her son that rolling around in the street and really should have pulled her shirt down over her bum. It was a mom-hair day.

I've been cooking, baking, and freezing like a crazy lady this last week, thus the mom hair. Chicken casseroles. Clam chowder. Chicken noodle soup. Breakfast casseroles. Chicken Alfredo. Banana bread muffins. Spaghetti sauce. Breakfast popsicles. I'm thinking stocking up the freezer with meal from when I'm gone and meals when I come home is probably a good idea.

Keeping it real, sometimes Jude is scared. He broke down a few days ago and told me he's just "worried about everything." He's a worry wart by nature, and so we keep trying to play this thing down. 'Cause really, it is down. It's all fixable with some time and effort, 2 things we definitely have. And in the end, we're together dealing with it, and that makes us the lucky ones. So we talk about how fun the wheelchair is. How many times we can visit the zoo in St. Louis. Getting his classmates to sign his casts and carrying a variety of Sharpie colors to do so. You know, we talk about the upside and the fun stuff. Looking at the glass half full seems to be helping him be less anxious. I want to validate his fear but also reassure that he will be safe and okay, and we're in this together. And I want to be a role model for him and show him that I'm not worried and we're gonna use this as an opportunity to spend some quality and quantity time together. In a busy house with 7 kiddos, that's a gift.

Livy is coming with us on the first trip, so I'm so happy to have her along and her extra set of hands as we get the lay of the land. We're leaving for our first trip of several to St. Louis on Sunday, and the doctor will give us the low down and start treatment on Monday.

They've been having so much fun on the wheel chair! I don't think it would matter what color it is, even pink! Well... until we went out in public that is. Actually pink is one of his favorite colors to wear, but he's totally aware when it crosses the girl line and lets me know!

4 yrs - the average time a child spends in American foster care before being adopted

1.5 million children live in public care in Central and Eastern Europe

12.4 million orphans live in Latin America and the Carribean

43.4 million orphans live in sub-Saharan Africa

87.6 million orphans live in Asia

16 million children were orphaned in 2003

Every 14 seconds a child is orphaned as a result of AIDS

400,000+ children in the American Foster Care in 2011

20,000+ young people "age out" of the U.S. foster care system each year. Of these only a little over half will earn a high school diploma.

147 million orphans in the world

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT...

"Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness. Kindness in your face. Kindness in your eyes. Kindness in your smile." ~Mother Teresa

The content of this blog, including photographs, are the property of the blog owner, the crazy mama herself, and may not be copied or reposted without permission. Please contact me if you would like permission to use a photograph or copy text. I'm more than happy to share, but I'd just like to know first. nancyvnjourney@hotmail.com